One fake @StevenSinofsky doesn’t amuse real Microsoft

Business Insider has the amusing story of how Microsoft made Twitter close down the account of someone tweeting as Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky.

@StevenSinofsky — the former, fake Twitter account that said in the bio “I’m not ‘the’ Steven Sinofsky” — had been tweeting gems such as: “@MCHammer We want to license ‘Can’t touch this’ for the #Windows8 launch. Problem is Microsoft has cut my budget. Can you help?”

Not only was @StevenSinofsky answering W8 questions on Twitter, he was contacting journalists asking for interviews… So Microsoft gave him the Twitter equivalent of the Colbert Bump … it sent a public message to him via the @BuildWindows8 account, saying: “@StevenSinofsky please see guidelines on parody and impersonation. Your account is not following them them and has been reported.”

Bottom line: The @StevenSinofsky was closed, but the account holder has apparently moved to @FakeSinofsky.

About

Welcome to Microsoft Pri0: That's Microspeak for top priority, and that's the news and observations you'll find here from Seattle Times technology reporter Matt Day. Send tips or comments to mday@seattletimes.com.